Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker engaged in one of the best fights of 2020, a five-round war last June that Poirier ultimately won by unanimous decision. That victory put Poirier in the driver's seat as he pursues another shot at the UFC lightweight championship, and on Saturday he'll compete in one of the biggest fights of his career -- a rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Hooker, meanwhile, gets a prime spot for himself on Saturday in another big lightweight showcase, as he takes on former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler, who is making his UFC debut. That fight could also decide a future title challenger, especially with the high likelihood that champion Khabib Nurmagomedov remains retired. Hooker said he doesn't have a pick in Poirier vs. McGregor. But he knows as well as anyone how tough Poirier is.
"As we all know, Conor has kind of the lulls of energy throughout the fight," Hooker told reporters this week at media day. "Dustin does not. Dustin constantly just builds throughout the fight. I don't feel like [McGregor is] gonna get [Poirier] out of there. If Conor doesn't hurt him badly early on and drain some of Dustin's gas away, I think it's gonna be difficult for [McGregor] in the later rounds."
Cardio has always been one of the big questions for McGregor. His gas tank has hurt him in fights with Nate Diaz and Nurmagomedov. On the other hand, McGregor is one of the most dangerous fighters in the world on the feet for the first two rounds thanks to the incredible power in his left hand. Poirier would know that, too. McGregor knocked Poirier out in just 1:46 when they met for the first time at UFC 178 on Sept. 27, 2014.
"It's like what Mike Tyson says -- it's like the touch of death," UFC featherweight contender Calvin Kattar said of McGregor's straight left.
Can Poirier drag McGregor into deep waters and survive long into the fight? Or will McGregor be able to catch him with that phenomenal, precise boxing once again? ESPN asked some top coaches and fighters for their picks and analysis of the UFC 257 main event.
Brandon Gibson, JacksonWink MMA striking coach
Both are champions. Both have made improvements over the years. Both have shown fighting spirit and mental fortitude. Conor is coming off that dominant victory over Donald Cerrone -- that was a master class. And Dustin showed a lot of resilience in his back-and-forth battle with Dan Hooker. That's one of those types of battles that can leave a lasting impact on you.
This is a rematch, and it's southpaw versus southpaw, but Dustin has been known to shift stances. I'm interested to see how he uses his footwork against McGregor. Dustin is really good at pressuring and feinting and shifting and trying to cut off the cage. That's something I think he's gonna look to do -- pressure Conor. But we all know that Conor is one of the greatest counter fighters of all time. Conor can fight very well off his back foot, but he can also be really, really aggressive. And that's what we saw against Cerrone.
I think Conor has an advantage as far as the variety of attacks and setups. He really is brilliant in setting up his attacks. He has power in both hands, and has unorthodox strikes like we saw with his shoulder strikes against "Cowboy." I think Conor's accuracy and timing are going to be the difference. I don't think we're gonna see a trilogy after this match. I think Conor is gonna find a shot and put Dustin away. Maybe in the second round.
I think Dustin has grown tremendously since their first fight and he's extremely resilient. But he does tend to absorb a high volume of strikes. Dustin has looked great in fights where he's able to push the pace in the later rounds, like the Dan Hooker fight. That's where Conor has been kind of known to fatigue, too. I think Dustin has excellent coaching in Mike Brown and the guys at American Top Team, but at the end of the day, they've been in there together. Conor has the first-round knockout, which is already a huge advantage in the mental preparation.
Urijah Faber, UFC Hall of Famer
I don't think Dustin will try to shoot for takedowns. Conor did a good job against Khabib Nurmagomedov [early on]. Khabib is Khabib. He did a lot better than Khabib's other opponents as far as avoiding takedowns. Conor is no slouch there. He's gotten up from other guys' takedowns, like Chad Mendes and other fighters with strong grappling backgrounds. I think Poirier is gonna try to fight smart and win a mixed martial arts bout, not make it a standup battle or a grappling battle.
Conor has been looking super impressive as far as his athleticism goes. It looks like he's taking it really seriously. I'm leaning on the side of Conor again. I think it'll probably go longer than last time. I think Poirier has matured a lot and gotten better as a fighter. I think he'll fight smarter. I think it'll go longer, but Conor will be the victor.
Eddie Cha, Fight Ready striking coach
If you look at some of Conor's biggest wins, like the Eddie Alvarez one, they were four years ago. Conor is going back to 155 pounds for this fight, which I love. I think that's his division. But I just don't know what Conor is going to be there. If you look at his record, it's amazing. He has 19 knockouts in 22 wins -- it's just unbelievable. Dustin has made some great improvements. The Hooker fight was amazing. He's beaten many top guys like Justin Gaethje.
I'm thinking Dustin in this one. It's a new-and-improved Dustin. I think if Dustin gets out of the second round, he has a really good chance of maybe finishing McGregor in the fourth or fifth -- especially if he can get Conor down. I think he learned from the first fight and will add kicks, wrestle a little bit, not rush into things. I would say Dustin by decision.
I love Conor, but I just think Dustin has grown so much, and mentally he has the confidence factor. When Conor was starting off he was getting in everybody's head. This seems to be a more respectful Conor now. I'm sure he's motivated and hungry, but having hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank -- or whatever he has -- I don't know how motivating it can be for whatever he's making in this fight.
I do think Conor truly loves the sport, and he's one of the big reasons why fighters are making a little more money. But just going off improvements and staying active and staying in the gym, constantly improving, I think it's Dustin's time.
Michael Chandler, UFC lightweight contender
You can only have so many of those wars that Dustin has been in. I think Conor just keeps getting better. He had a year off, but he finished "Cowboy" Cerrone in 40 seconds. He's spent only 40 seconds in the Octagon in the last maybe two-plus years.
Conor conducts himself, for the most part, like a champion when it comes down to training. Not to mention the fact that you see the pictures, you see the training videos, you see the hype, you hear the interviews. He's on a different wavelength of seeing this opportunity. I think he sees that with Khabib talking about retirement, and he wants to be the champion. I think Conor is motivated. I think a year off doesn't do anything bad for him.
Sayif Saud, Fortis MMA head coach
Here's the thing to consider with Conor: I think that Conor's team is trying to pick fights where they think they have the mental advantage. They're trying to pick fights where they think guys don't perform at their best in a big spot. But the reality is Dustin Poirier is a totally different fighter than he was back [when they met in 2014]. Overall, I think Dustin is a better fighter than Conor McGregor, because he's got better jiu-jitsu, he's got better wrestling.
That being said, will Dustin's team implement a plan where they try to use the cage and try and wear Conor down? I don't know. I don't think it's smart for them to play a pure striking game with Conor, because Conor has shown he's got such unbelievable timing and spatial awareness. He just waits for people. He drops back to get that bounce going, drops back -- boom! He didn't fight Dustin like that last time. He came forward a lot. So it'll be interesting to see what Poirier's coach, Mike Brown, and the staff down there are gonna do. Are they gonna mix it up? Conor has shown he can gas out a little bit in the later rounds and start slowing down.
I don't think going strike for strike is a good idea. Conor doesn't really get tired doing that. The clinching and the grappling is what starts to wear him down. I think that if Dustin and his team implement a real plan to grind on Conor and make him tired, I think Dustin has a real chance of winning. It comes down to the game plan. It's not like Conor is easy to take down, either. The later the fight goes, the more it favors Dustin. But it's a dangerous game to play with Conor's striking. Nobody has really beaten him in the striking department.
Cody Garbrandt, former UFC bantamweight champion
Dustin is as tough as they come. I don't think they make fighters like him anymore -- just his mentality to win, his dedication to the sport. He's battle-tested.
Conor is on top of the world. I know how that feels to be champion and then you get knocked off of it. It's embarrassing. I know what it did to me -- it lit a fire under me. It took some time. I had to really dissect my life, what I needed to balance on, what I needed to even out in my life. That's what I'm seeing from him. He looks like he's in full training mode, fight mode. Losing the title made me hungrier. I know what having the gold belt means, what it brings to you. And what it brings to you when you lose it.
We're all chasing greatness. If you're in the sport to be the best, you're chasing that gold and whoever has it. You have to keep that mentality that got you there, that made you climb the mountain the first time. Now, it's different. You have to understand there's a different path up the mountain. I think that's where Conor is at, too. He looks good. I've seen his training. But he's done it before. He's done it in good fashion.
Now, they're both up a weight class from their first fight. I don't know if I can give a prediction. I saw something that Dustin put out, that they'll be bloody, fourth and fifth rounds and just beating the s--- out of each other and really seeing who wants it at the end. I think that's the kind of fight we're gonna have. Dustin has improved so much since that first fight with him. And Conor has, too. Conor is more battle-tested and in more ways than just his martial arts career.
Sean Madden, Elevation Fight Team striking coach
Both guys have improved tremendously since that first fight. But I think this one really just comes down to a stylistic matchup -- it's just a tough one for Dustin Poirier. I think Poirier's biggest strength is his boxing and that plays right into Conor's biggest strength, which is his counterpunching. As much as Dustin has improved -- and Conor has improved, too -- I think it's just his style that presents a very tough fight for Dustin.
There are some routes to victory I see for Dustin. One would obviously be for him to try and grapple early and wear Conor out. We know Conor can get tired, but I think Dustin is going to find it tougher than he might imagine to take Conor down. I think trying to take the fight to the later rounds is a big key for Dustin. I think he has the bigger heart, which he has put on display quite a few times -- that Dan Hooker fight most recently. I just don't know if he's gonna be able to get the fight to the later rounds this time.
Conor's best work is done in the first round and a half. I see Conor getting this done, probably inside of two rounds. That's when Conor is at his strongest and most explosive. Dustin is just going to have a hard time closing that gap, and when he does he's gonna pay for it. Conor is such a master of distance and timing. Dustin's best attributes just feed right into Conor's and that's a tough thing to change. It's just a style issue.
Tyson Chartier, New England Cartel coach
I'm going with Conor. I think he's already won the fight. If you look at the last time they fought, Conor has improved. Dustin has improved, too. But where Dustin, in my opinion, has not improved is his defense. He still gets hit a lot. And that's why everybody loves Dustin because he gets in awesome fights. I'm a huge fan of Dustin; I love watching him. But he gets hit and you can't get hit by Conor McGregor.
That's from the technical side of things. From the other side of it, Conor is definitely the A-side. He's the one calling the shots. You're fighting him, because he wants to fight you. He wants to fight you, because he's pretty sure he can win. Conor is not stupid. Everybody sees the moves he's made over his career. He's kind of a savant when it comes to building a legacy and changing the game. He and his team are smart and he has good coaches around him. If he's saying, "Dustin, you're the guy," there's a reason he's saying that. It's not because it's a good challenge for himself; it's because he thinks that fight makes sense, he can win and it'll be a big payday.
I don't think it'll be exactly like last time. I don't think Conor will just come out and finish him. Mike Brown and Dustin's team will have a plan, but I think Dustin is going to do Dustin things and he's going to get caught in an exchange and then he'll get finished. I think he'll be smart for the first couple of rounds. But I think by the end of the third or the fourth, I wouldn't be surprised if Dustin gets dropped and finished.
Joanne Calderwood, UFC women's flyweight contender
I just think Conor and his mindset can do anything. He can beat the world. I like that about him. He's in that mindset right now. I love Dustin, would love to see him win. But I'm with Conor in this one.